Gathering Assorted Items of Baseball History and Trivia

I hadn’t known that Barry Bonds nearly became a San Francisco Giant in the mid ’80s instead of the early ’90s-at least, not until coming across this item in a Glenn Dickey column in the San Francisco Chronicle of July 4, 1988. The headline: Picture Giants With Bonds And Incaviglia:

ONCE AGAIN this past weekend, with the Pittsburgh Pirates in town, I thought how nice it would be if the Giants had Barry Bonds. The Giants drafted Bonds, remember, in 1982, their second choice in the draft of high school and college players. They couldn’t sign him because Tom Haller, then the general manager, wouldn’t go past $70,000. Bonds, the son of former Giants outfielder Bobby Bonds, wanted $75,000. When he didn’t get it, he went to college instead. In that same draft, the Giants also selected Pete Incaviglia. He wanted $15,000 to sign. The Giants offered $8,000 and lost him. The Giants’ No. 1 pick that year was Steve Stanicek, who had been a designated hitter in college. They did sign Stanicek, one of only two in the top 10 draftees they signed that year, but he never made it to the majors. Now you know why Giants President Al Rosen emphasizes both good scouting and signing the players the club drafts. You won’t see a repeat of the ’82 disaster with Rosen in charge.